Conners Shines Again

Jason Logan

Jason Logan

Bits
Fantastic stuff from Listowel, Ont.’s Corey Conners at the Sony Open. After Monday qualifying for the tournament he posted scores of 64-64 on the weekend to finish tied for third. That moves him to 19th on this year’s FedEx Cup ranking, meaning he’s all but assured himself of finishing in the top 125 by regular season’s end to secure exempt status for next year ×× Here’s the weird thing about that: Conners is playing in the conditionally exempt, 126-150-on-last-year’s-FedEx-Cup category and began it fourth on the pecking order among players in that group. (He finished 130th but one of the players ahead of him, Sergio Garcia, is exempt via his 2017 Masters victory.) That category periodically reorders and Conners entered the Sony already first among those players thanks to his runner-up at the Sanderson Farms Championship in the fall. But that doesn’t mean his status for this season has improved drastically. He’s going to get a decent number of starts and based on his current FedEx Cup ranking he may get into some invitational events that place more weight on this season’s performance, like the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players, but he won’t necessarily see action in some of the other better-field tournaments unless he Monday qualifies or gets in via a top 10 the previous week. So in effect he’s already secured better status for next season than he has for the remainder of this season ×× The more I watch Conners swing a golf club the more I wish I had his takeaway. The way he seems to just pick the club up and place it behind his shoulders looks effortless and his tempo is always the same ×× Conners, by the way, sure plays well in tournaments where he wasn’t in the field to start the week. Last year, when he played in the final group on Sunday with Justin Rose at the Valspar Championship — with Tiger Woods directly in front of him — he got in after being the third alternate ×× If you had to guess, how many golfers do you think have won consecutive Canadian Amateur Championships? The answer is below.

Bites
I recall a time (with fondness) when January’s slew of new golf equipment releases meant taking some time to craft a website story rather than race to post photos on social media ×× Shout out to Team Canada member Chris Crisologo for defending his title at the South American Amateur Open, which he did in a playoff after forcing extras with a birdie on the 72nd hole. You won’t find a nicer kid ×× The way Jordan Spieth sometimes talks to his golf ball is good practice for when he eventually has a four-year-old who won’t eat her dinner ×× No real surprise here but the first hurdle for St. George’s G&CC in hosting the 2020 and 2024 RBC Canadian Opens appears to have been leapt. The board of directors at nearby Islington GC has endorsed hosting the practice range for those two events, which is necessary because St. George’s does not have a large enough range itself. Islington’s membership still has to vote on the matter however ×× Don’t forget that the Web.com Tour is currently in action in the Bahamas with four Canadians competing in the Sunday-Wednesday Great Exuma Classic. The Canucks in action are Albin Choi, Brad Fritsch, Michael Gligic and Ryan Yip. Same Sunday-Wednesday deal next week for the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, which B.C.’s Adam Svensson won last year.

Barbs
Consider me surprised that Matt Kuchar has played so well this year. I thought his dip last season was the first indication that his steadiness was starting to erode. Hence the reason we ranked him 31st in our 2019 SCOREGolf Annual Issue. Big blunder there ×× No way do I believe that Kuchar paid the local caddie he used while winning in Mexico last fall only $3,000, as has been reported on social media. That would be disgraceful. I could understand Kuchar not paying him the standard 10 per cent given the caddie had no travel expenses, and I could also see, unfortunately, the $3,000 story conjured simply to protect the caddie from would-be thieves. Kuchar has denied the claim ×× If you aren’t aware of that story it was sparked on Twitter by past PGA Tour player Tom Gillis, who first insinuated and then directly named Kuchar for the alleged short-changing. Gillis is worth a follow by the way. He doesn’t pull many punches and has called out nearly as many tour pros as Ivor Robson ×× Next week is the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. Or as I like to think of it, 10,000 steps a day without working out ×× The answer to the above question about repeat Canadian Amateur winners is 14, which I find astonishing. They are Zach Bachou (2017-18); Mackenzie Hughes (2011-12); Cam Burke (2008-09); Richard Scott (2005-06); Han Lee (1999-2000); Brent Franklin (1985-87); Rod Spittle (1977-78); Jim Nelford (1975-76); Nick Weslock (1963-64); Moe Norman (1955-56); Frank Stranahan (1947-48); Albert Campbell (1933-34); Sandy Somerville (1930-31); and George S. Lyon (1905-07).

Obscure thought of the week: Why can getting the flu shot sometimes bring about flu-like symptoms? That’s like putting on a bullet-proof vest and feeling like you have a hole in your chest.